Does Coexisting Bronchiectasis Affect Severity and Duration of COPD Exacerbations?

Bronchiectasis (BE) increases the frequency and duration of bacterial exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to new research.

To better understand the effect of BE on COPD exacerbations, the researchers evaluated the frequency and duration of bacterial exacerbations and the duration of exacerbation-free intervals in 54 patients with COPD over a 12-month period.
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The researchers defined the duration of exacerbation as the mean number of days without complete resolution of the symptoms or the patient’s return to baseline severity.

BE was diagnosed in 27 patients via high-resolution computed tomography. The other 27 patients did not have BE and served as a control group.

Over the 12-month period, patients with COPD and BE had a significantly higher number of exacerbations than the controls and had significantly longer mean duration of exacerbation than the controls.

In addition, patients with COPD and BE had a significantly shorter exacerbation-free period than controls.

“Overall, our findings indicate that coexisting BE in COPD patients may lead to more frequent exacerbations with a longer duration,” the researchers concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Minov J, Stoleski S, Mijakoski D, Vasilevska K, Atanasovska A. Exacerbations in COPD patients with bronchiectasis. Med Sci. 2017;5(2):7. doi:10.3390/medsci5020007.